


Begin Anew

by Pantherlily



Series: Caleb and Nott Origins [1]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: But not explicitly depicted, some abuse mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-15 05:54:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13606953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pantherlily/pseuds/Pantherlily
Summary: One shot of my idea on Nott's back story and how she met Caleb. Based on what we have seen so far on episodes 1-4 and things mentioned on Talks Machina. So expect some spoilers, especially from episode four since this takes place pretty much right after it and then has a flash back scene. Part 1 of 3 in a series.





	Begin Anew

The first night out on the road with their new friends is difficult for Nott. Memories of her past are making it near impossible to sleep. “Caleb…” She crawls over to her friend, her face directly in front of his. “…can I sleep with you tonight?”

An incoherent murmur escapes the wizard before an eye cracks open. He isn’t perturbed by the close proximity of the goblin in the least. He lifts an arm up in invitation. “Are the nightmares back?” His voice is a low whisper to ensure no one else will hear.

Nott curls into the open space that is offered to her. “Yes.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” His arm falls back down around his friend in a protective manner.

“No.”

“Okay.”

“Caleb?”

“Yes?”

“I’m worried about you.”

“I’m fine. I’m here, yeah? No need to worry.”

“Okay, I’ll try not to.” Nott stills and quiets after that, eyes closing. However, sleep does not find her easily. Her mind is racing, as she curls into Caleb some more and she can feel the wizard attempt to comfort her further.

* * *

It was hard to be different in a tribe of angry and violent goblins. Nott just wanted shiny things and keep to herself, but they expected more of her. When it came time to raid nearby settlements, she wasn’t the least bit interested in that sort of thing.

Her choice not to help in the usual goblin endeavors, got her bullied and sometimes even abused. She had tried running away but they caught her, only to make a further mockery of her and found new ways to debase her.

In turn it made her nervous and skittish, almost in a constant state of panic. To help cope she began drinking. She felt like she was trapped in the abyss, with no hope for anything. The alcohol only helped numb things so much.

Besides the drinking, Nott also found comfort in the things she would take. They were hers and she would stare at them as she turned them over in her hands. It was all she had and unfortunately things didn’t get better for her in the goblin camp.

She had been forced to join a scouting party one day, though she lagged behind the group as much as she could. While passing a fast-moving river, something at the bottom caught her eye. Never one to pass up a shiny object, the goblin waded into the water. It wasn’t deep and not that far out. However, a rip current caught Nott unaware and began to carry her further down the river and away from the shore, where her short stature could no longer reach the bottom. “Help!” She cried out to the other goblins, as she thrashed around in the river that was quickly turning into rapids the further downstream she went.

Instead of offering aide however, the other goblins snickered and poked fun at Nott’s predicament. A few even threw rocks at her helpless form, one hitting her in the head and rendering her unconscious.

What happened to her goblin tribe after that, Nott had no clue. There was no way of knowing how much time had passed either before she woke, choking on water that was no longer present, but her mind was in a panic for a few moments while it tried to play catch up. A face, a human one! was looming over her and she couldn’t help but scream.

The human screamed too and backed up a few paces, before clearing their throat and speaking. “Uh…yes, hello. Are you, okay? I found you on the shore of a river, looking quite waterlogged.”

Did this human not want to kill her immediately? Goblins weren’t exactly well liked by many other species in Wildemount. Nott stared at the human, ready to defend herself if need be. “I think so…did you save me?”

The human gave a shrug. “I just checked to make sure you weren’t dead. You weren’t so I moved you away from the tide. You woke up a bit after that.”

Nott gave the human an incredulous look, not trusting the stranger in the least. “Thannnk you?”

The human stared back but then brightened, as an idea seem to come to mind. “Do you like cats?” A snap of the fingers and a cat appeared.

The finger snap made her flinch visibly and she backed away from the orange ball of fur that came towards her purring.

“That’s Frumpkin. He won’t hurt you and neither will I.”

The goblin looked at the human and then the cat, uncertainty still in her eyes. A hesitant hand reached out to pet the orange feline, the head butting into her palm as the purring continued to rumble forth. Despite her trepidation, petting Frumpkin did help put her at ease a bit.

“See?” The human smiled as he watched the goblin interact with his cat. “I’m Caleb.” He moved forward a bit, albeit slowly.

Her gaze flickered back to the human as soon as he moved. “I’m Nott the Brave!” She tried to stand up straighter and puffed out her chest, to make herself look more intimidating.

Caleb stopped and regarded Nott with a bit of a smile. “Are you hungry?” He reached into a small bag and pulled out some dried meat.

For the life of her, she couldn’t figure out why this human was being nice to her. Not even her own kind was. It was confusing, but that food did look tasty! Quickly, she ripped the food from Caleb’s hand and gobbled it with speed and ferocity. “Do you have more?”

He couldn’t help but be a bit fascinated as he watched the goblin eat quite noisily. There was something…endearing? about it. “Yeah sure.” He grabbed the last of his food and offered it to Nott.

Once more, she reached out and took the food and ate it much in the same manner as she had before. After finishing the small meal, Nott stared at Caleb while still absently petting Frumpkin. “Why are you helping me?”

“Well, you looked like you were in need of it.”

It still didn’t make sense to her. “Caleb?”

“Yes?”

“Are we friends now?”

Caleb smiled. “Yes, I suppose we are.”

“I’ve never had a friend before.”

“You do now. Two of them.” He nodded towards Frumpkin.

“Caleb?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you.”

“Of course, that’s what friends are for.”

* * *

The memory of meeting Caleb and making her first friend ever, is enough to settle her mind and her tense body relaxes and Nott is able to finally sleep peacefully.


End file.
